Ontario operating trade name

This discussion will be about the requirement under the Business Names Act (Ontario) for a company to register under the Business Names Act when it operates under a name other than its corporate name.

The statute indicates in section 2 that no corporation shall carry on business or identify itself to the public under a name Other Than its corporate name unless That name is registered by the corporation.

This legal requirement is frequently not followed correctly by small business corporations. Let us take the example of a person who incorporates a company called Trewell Landscaping Inc. He incorporates his company and wants to put a sign up on his door for the name “Trewell Landscaping”.